Methods and apparatus for configuring and/or managing communications devices

ABSTRACT

A communications device is equipped with a secondary interface, e.g., a wireless interface, in addition to a primary interface. In at least some, but not necessarily all, embodiments the secondary interface is an inexpensive Long Range (LoRa) wireless interface which uses sub-GHz unlicensed spectrum or a Narrow Band-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) wireless interface which uses licensed spectrum. The secondary interface is in addition to a primary interface used for transmitting data, e.g., user data such as voice, video or text data, to a primary communications device, e.g., to support voice or data applications running on a user device. The secondary interface, e.g., a low power/low data rate interface, is used for communicating small amounts of data for initial configuration, fault recovery, re-initialization, and/or updates.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/438,379 filed Jun. 11, 2019 which published as U.S. patentpublication US-2020-0396623-A1 on Dec. 17, 2020, and which issued asU.S. Pat. No. 10,966,107 on Mar. 30, 2021, said patent application, saidpatent publication of the application, and said issued patent beinghereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD

The present invention relates to communication methods and apparatus,and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for configuring and/ormanaging communications devices, e.g., as part of an initialconfiguration of a primary communications interface and/or in responseto a fault condition interfering with communication via a primarycommunications interface.

BACKGROUND

Many communications devices need to be configured prior to being able tocommunicate data over their primary communications interface. Theconfiguration may involve such things as setting maxim transmissionpower levels, frequencies to be used and/or loading a device with anidentifier to be used for communicating with other devices and/orsetting security key or secrets used to secure communications with otherdevices via a particular interface, e.g., a wireless interface.

Configuration of devices is particularly important in systems whereresources are shared and a management device or system is involved inthe control and/or configuration of devices seeking to use some of theshared resources.

Consider, for example, CBRS which stands for Citizens Broadband RadioService. The Federal Communications Commission established CBRS as a wayfor shared wireless broadband use of the 3550-3700 Mhz band, which ismore commonly known as the 3.5 Ghz band. While user devices can use CBRSradio spectrum at relatively low power levels, e.g., at a EquivalentIsotropically Radiated Power (EIRP) up to 23 dBm, devices operatingabove this power level are considered Citizens Broadband Radio ServiceDevices (CBSDs) that are required to be authorized by an SAS (SpectrumAccess System) to be allowed to use CBRS system resources. A CBSD isnormally identified by a CBSD identifier (CBSD-ID). In a CBRS system itis the responsibility of CBSD to register and be authorized by an SASbefore the CBSD may begin using CBRS radio resources for communications.

CBSDs are likely to be used for fixed wireless access (FWA) since theyare likely to use high power, e.g., with an EIRP over 23 dBm. CBSDs forFWA are likely to be found in many locations, including homes, tofacilitate Internet and/or other network access by UEs, e.g., in a homeor office.

While it might be relatively easy to supply wired power to a FWA, it maybe difficult to provide a wired network connection which can be used tocontact an SAS to obtain authorization from the SAS to use CBRSresources.

Numerous other devices may have similar issues and/or needs with respectto having to contact a management system to obtain configurationinformation needed to use particular communications resources and/orauthorization to use particular communications resources. For examplethere may be, and often is, a need to manage and/or configure CPEdevices such as cable modems, fixed wireless access CPEs (whether or notthey are CBRS based devices) and/or other communications devices whichare intended to communicate primarily over a particular communicationsnetwork or interface but may require configuration and/or authorizationfor such communication.

While initial device configuration and/or authorization with respect toa communications network or resource is one problem, another problemthat exists relates to managing and/or reconfiguration devices whencommunication over their primary communications interface suffers afault. For example, if a CBSD becomes unable to communicate using CBRSresources, e.g., because of a configuration issue, it would be desirableif there was a way to reconfigure and/or reauthorize the device from aremote location. Similarly, if a WiFi access point or other type ofcommunications device suffered a failure with regard to the device'sprimary communications interface, e.g., a WiFi interface in the case ofa WiFi access point, it would be desirable if the device could bereconfigured from a remote location without having to send a humantechnician to the site where the device is located.

In view of the above, it should be appreciated that there is a need formethods and/or apparatus for managing and/or configuring acommunications device without requiring the communications device'sprimary interface to be active and without having to be at the locationof the device.

SUMMARY

In various embodiments a communications device is equipped with asecondary interface, e.g., a wireless interface, in addition to aprimary interface. In at least some but not necessarily all embodimentsthe secondary interface is a Long Range (LoRa) wireless interface whichuses sub-GHz unlicensed spectrum or a Narrow Band-Internet of Things(NB-IoT) wireless interface which uses licensed spectrum. The secondaryinterface is in addition to a primary interface used for transmittingdata, e.g., user data such as voice, video or text data, to a primarycommunications device, e.g., to support voice or data applicationsrunning on a user device. Thus a communications device implemented inaccordance with the present invention includes a primary interface whichsupports data communication with a primary network and a secondarywireless interface.

The communications device can be preconfigured, e.g., by a devicemanufacture prior to deployment of the communications device at acustomer premise or other location where it is powered on and used tocommunicate user data or data corresponding to multiple user devices.Because the communications device in accordance with a secondaryinterface includes a secondary wireless interface which is preconfiguredin at least some embodiments with a secondary device identifier to beused to identify the communications device when communicating via thesecondary interface, security information, e.g., encryption key orshared secret to be used to secure information communicated via thesecondary interface or respond to challenges as part of an authorizationand/or registration process, and/or information sufficient to enable thecommunications device to contact and register with a management deviceor system via the secondary interface, the communications device can bepowered on at a customer location, contact a management device or systemand receive additional configuration information that is useful orrequired to configure the primary communications interface.

Because the secondary interface is wireless, the communications devicecan be deployed, authenticated and registered without the device'sprimary communications interface having to operate and support initialnetwork connectivity. In addition in the event of a fault or failure,whether it be a hardware, registration, or configuration failure withrespect to the primary interface, the communications device cancommunicate with a management device or system, report its configurationor other information, such as a detected fault, and receive informationfrom the management system or device that can be used to reconfigure oneor more device settings or information used with regard tocommunications via the primary communications interface thereby, restoreand/or enable communications via the primary interface.

In various embodiments the secondary interface supports a lower datarate than the primary interface. In some embodiments the secondaryinterface supports a longer communications range than the primaryinterface. In addition, in some embodiments the secondary interface canbe, and sometimes is, operated using less power than an amount of powerrequired to operate the primary interface over a fixed period of time.The secondary interface can be, and sometimes is, powered by a backupbattery, e.g., when there is a wired power failure to the device. In atleast some such cases the communications device does not supportcommunications via the primary interface in the event of power failureand constrains communication on backup power to the secondary interface.

In some, but not necessarily all embodiments, the communications devicerestricts communication via the secondary interface to control and/ormanagement related communications such as device status, configuration,control information and/or device authorization/registration relatedcommunications, with communication of user or application data such asvoice data, text messages or video being restricted from beingcommunicated over the secondary interface. In some embodiments thedevice is associated with a customer premises location and/or customeraccount prior to shipment to a customer but is activated and madefunctional after it is powered and contacts the management system viathe secondary wireless interface.

In various embodiments the secondary interface is implemented atrelatively low cost. While the average data rates supported by thesecondary interface may be, and sometimes are, a fraction, e.g., 1/10th,1/1000th or even 1/10,000th the data rate supported by the primaryinterface, the secondary wireless interface can add a significant amountof control and configuration functionality reducing the risk that atechnician need be deployed to a site. This is because the status and/orconfiguration of the communications device can be remotely determinedvia the secondary interface and the primary interface can bereconfigured by altering one or more settings and/or resetting varioussecurity related information via the secondary interface even whencommunications via the primary interface is not possible due to aconfiguration or other issue.

Reconfiguration of a device via the secondary interface can be initiatedby either a management device in the management system in response todetecting a communications failure or fault with respect tocommunication with an individual communications device via its primaryinterface or by the communications device which detects a communicationsfailure or fault with respect to its primary communications interface.

Accordingly whether a communications device detects a fault with respectto communications via a device's primary interface or a network devicedetects a fault with respect to communications with a device via itsprimary interface, the secondary interface remains a reliable secondarychannel which can be used to reconfigure and hopefully restore acommunications device's ability to communicate via the device's primarycommunications interface.

The methods and apparatus of the present invention in which acommunications device is equipped with a secondary communicationsinterface, e.g. a Long Range (LoRa) wireless interface which usessub-GHz unlicensed spectrum or a Narrow Band-Internet of Things (NB-IoT)wireless interface which uses licensed spectrum, are well suited to awide range of applications. For example in some embodiments thecommunications device including both a primary communications interfaceand a secondary wireless interface is a FWA CPE, CBRS CBSD, Wi-Fi orWi-Fi6 Access Point. In other embodiments the communications device iscommunications device which includes as a primary communicationsinterface a Docsis Modem. In still other embodiments the communicationsdevice is a multi-access IoT hub that can be used in a home, enterprise,city, industrial site, hotel, hospital or some other location.

In many cases the secondary interface can be and is included atrelatively low cost often adding one or a few dollars to a device thatin many cases may cost over a hundred dollars or even hundreds ofdollars depending on the communications device in which the secondaryinterface is incorporated.

An exemplary method of operating a communications device including afirst (primary) communications interface and a second (secondary)communications interface, in accordance with some embodiments,comprises: storing in the communications device, secondarycommunications network credentials, the secondary communications networkcredentials being for use via the second communications interface, saidsecond communication interface being a wireless communications interfacewhich is one of: i) a Long Range (LoRa) wireless interface which usessub-GHz unlicensed spectrum or ii) a Narrow Band-Internet of Things(NB-IoT) wireless interface which uses licensed spectrum; communicatingvia the second interface and a secondary communications network (e.g., alow-power wide-area network (LPWAN) such as a LoRa communicationsnetwork or a NB-IoT network) with a management system; receiving fromthe management system configuration information for configuring thecommunications device to communicate over the first (primary)communications interface; and operating the communications device tocommunicate, in accordance with the received configuration information,via the first communications interface.

While various features and methods have been described, all embodimentsneed not include all features or steps mentioned in the summary.Numerous additional features and embodiments are discussed in thedetailed description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a drawing of an exemplary communications system including acommunications device, e.g., a high power FWA CPE including an embeddedLoRa/NB-IoT sensor, used to facilitate access to a secondary accessnetwork, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a drawing of an exemplary communications system including acommunications device, e.g., a CBRS CBSD including an embeddedLoRa/NB-IoT sensor, used to facilitate access to a secondary accessnetwork, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a drawing of an exemplary communications system including acommunications device, e.g., a WiFi access point including an embeddedLoRa sensor, used to facilitate access to a secondary access network, inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a drawing of an exemplary communications system including acommunications device, e.g., a Docsis modem, including an embedded LoRasensor, used to facilitate access to a secondary access network, inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a drawing of an exemplary communications system including acommunications device, e.g., a multi-access IoT hub, including anembedded LoRa sensor, used to facilitate access to a secondary accessnetwork, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 provides an overview of the various use cases described withrespect to FIGS. 1-5 , and further provides more detail with regard toan exemplary secondary network, e.g., a LoRa network.

FIG. 7 shows a method of provisioning a communications device andcommunicating using primary and secondary communications interfaces inone exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary method of communicating and updatingconfiguration information after the provisioning shown in FIG. 7 hasbeen completed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing how FIGS. 9A,9B, and 9C can be combined toform a single figure referred to as FIG. 9 that shows the steps ofdetecting and mitigating a communications failure with respect to aprimary communications interface using a secondary wirelesscommunications interface in accordance with one exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 9A shows a first part of FIG. 9 .

FIG. 9B shows a second part of FIG. 9 .

FIG. 9C shows a third part of FIG. 9 .

FIG. 10 is a drawing of an exemplary communications device in accordancewith an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a drawing of an exemplary management system, e.g., amanagement device, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 12A is a drawing of a first part of an exemplary assembly ofcomponents which may be included in an exemplary communications devicein accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 12B is a drawing of a second part of an exemplary assembly ofcomponents which may be included in an exemplary communications devicein accordance with an exemplary embodiment

FIG. 12 comprises the combination of FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B.

FIG. 13 is a drawing of an exemplary assembly of components which may beincluded in an exemplary management system in accordance with anexemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a drawing of an exemplary communications system 100 inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment. Exemplary communications system100 includes a communications device 102, e.g., a FWA customer premisesequipment (CPE), a primary network access device 104, e.g., a CBSD AP, acore network node 106, a SAS 108, a Element Management System(EMS)/Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) CPE database 110, a service providerdomain proxy 112, Internet 114, a secondary network access device 216,e.g., an Internet of Things (IoT) network AP, e.g., a Long Range/NarrowBand-Internet of Things (LoRa/NB-IoT) AP, and optional secondary networknode 118 coupled together as shown in FIG. 1 . LoRa refers to sub-GHzunlicensed spectrum available globally across the US, Europe and Asia.

Communications device 102, e.g., a FWA CPE, includes a primary interface126 and a secondary interface 128. Secondary interface 128 includes anembedded IoT sensor 130, e.g, a LoRA/NB-IoT sensor. The primary networkaccess device 104, e.g., a CBSD AP, is part of primary network 120. Thesecondary network access device 116, e.g., an IoT network AP such as aLoRa/NB-IoT AP, and in some embodiments, optional secondary networknodes 118 are included as part of a secondary network 122. The SAS 108,EMS/FWA CPE database 110 and service provider domain proxy 112 areincluded as part of a management system 124 including one or moremanagement devices.

Communications device 102, e.g., a FWA CPE, uses primary interface 126to communicate with primary network access device 104, e.g., a CBSD AP,via wireless link 132 over which CBRS wireless signals are communicated.Communications device 102, e.g., a FWA CPE, uses secondary interface 128to communicate with secondary network access device 116, e.g., an IoTnetwork AP such as a LoRa/NB-IoT AP, via wireless link 134 over whichwireless signals, e.g., LoRa wireless signals, are communicated.

Primary network access device 104 is coupled to core network 106 viacommunications link 142. The core network 106 is coupled to EMS/FWA CPEdatabase via communications link 136. The core network 106 is coupled tothe service provider domain proxy 112 via communications link 144. TheEMS/FWA CPE database 110 is coupled to service provider domain proxy 112via communication slink 146. The SAS 108, EMS/FWA CPE database 110 andservice provider domain proxy 112 are coupled to the Internet 114 viacommunications links (138, 140, 148), respectively.

Secondary network access device 116, e.g., an IoT network AP such as aLoRa/NB-IoT AP, is coupled to optional secondary network nodes 118 viacommunications link 150. The optional secondary network nodes 118 arecoupled to the Internet 114 via communications link 152.

FIG. 1 illustrates a first use case example, in accordance with thepresent invention, which is a use case example of high power FWA CPEmanagement using embedded LoRa/NB-IoT access, e.g., an embeddedLoRa/NB-IoT sensor 130 in the CPE 102. The CPE 102 can be, and sometimesis, minimally provisioned to ensure secure access through a secondarynetwork 122, e.g. a LoRa access network. In various embodiments, anembedded IoT sensor 130, supporting LoRa access, which was included inCPE 102 together with the subscriber profile can be, and sometimes is,used to provision and bring the CPE 102 online. In an operational statethe CPE 102 can be accessed through the primary network access device104, e.g., a CBSD AP of primary network 120, e.g. a CBRS network, aswell as through the secondary network access device 116, e.g., LoRa AP116 of secondary network 122, e.g., a LoRa access network. Since LoRacan operate at very low power, even battery backup can be used tomanage/configure/restore service in case of a catastrophic failure ofCBRS access/device/interface. This is especially true, when CBRS channelget withdrawn due to incumbent movement; thus the inclusion of secondaryaccess via LoRa is especially useful and beneficial in CBSD embodiments.The LoRa access can be, and in some embodiments is, also used to performsoftware updates on the CBSD. This approach minimizes downtime andoperating expenses (opex) (expensive truck rolls, technician visits),and enhances service reliability.

FIG. 2 is a drawing of an exemplary communications system 200 inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment. Exemplary communications system200 includes a communications device 102, e.g., a CBRS CBSD, a primarynetwork access device 204, e.g., a core network communications node, acore network node 106, a SAS 208, a EMS/CBSD database 210, a serviceprovider domain proxy 212, Internet 214, a secondary network accessdevice 216, e.g., an IoT network AP, e.g., a LoRa/NB-IoT AP, andoptional secondary network node 218 coupled together as shown in FIG. 2.

Communications device 202, e.g., a CBRS CBSD, includes a primaryinterface 226 and a secondary interface 228. Secondary interface 228includes an embedded IoT sensor 230, e.g., a LoRA/NB-IoT sensor. Theprimary network access device 204, e.g., a core network communicationsnode, is part of primary network 220. The secondary network accessdevice 216, e.g., an IoT network AP such as a LoRa/NB-IoT AP, and insome embodiments, optional secondary network nodes 218 are included aspart of a secondary network 222. The SAS 208, EMS/CBSD database 210 andservice provider domain proxy 212 are included as part of a managementsystem 224 including one or more management devices.

Communications device 202, e.g., a CBRS CBSD, uses primary interface 226to communicate with primary network access device 204, e.g., a corenetwork communications node, via wired/wireless backhaul link 232 overwhich wired/wireless backhaul signals are communicated. Communicationsdevice 202, e.g., a CBRS CBSD, uses secondary interface 228 tocommunicate with secondary network access device 216, e.g., an IoTnetwork AP such as a LoRa/NB-IoT AP, via wireless link 234 over whichwireless signals, e.g., LoRa wireless signals, are communicated.

Primary network access device 204, e.g., a core network communicationsnode, is coupled to EMS/CBSD database 210 via communications link 236.The primary network access device 204, e.g., a core networkcommunications node, is coupled to service provider domain proxy 212 viacommunications link 244. The EMS/CBSD database 210 is coupled to theservice provider domain proxy 212 via communications link 214. The SAS208, EMS/CBSD database 210 and service provider domain proxy 212 arecoupled to the Internet 214 via communications links (238, 240, 248),respectively.

Secondary network access device 216, e.g., an IoT network AP such as aLoRa/NB-IoT AP, is coupled to optional secondary network nodes 218 viacommunications link 250. The optional secondary network nodes 218 arecoupled to the Internet 214 via communications link 252.

FIG. 2 illustrates a second use case example, in accordance with thepresent invention, which is a use case example of CBRS-CBSD (eNB)management using an embedded LoRA/NB-IoT sensor 130 which is used toprovide secondary access. The CBSD 202 can be, and sometimes is,minimally provisioned to ensure secure access through a secondarynetwork 222, e.g. a LoRa access network. In various embodiments, anembedded IoT sensor 230, supporting LoRa access, which was included inCBSD 202 together with the subscriber profile can be, and sometimes is,used to provision and bring the CBSD 202 online. In an operational statethe CBSD 202 can be accessed through the primary network access device204, e.g., a core network communications node, of primary network 220,e.g. a backhaul network, as well as through the secondary network accessdevice 216, e.g., LoRa AP 216 of secondary network 222, e.g., a LoRaaccess network. Since LoRa can operate at very low power, even batterybackup can be used to manage/configure/restore service in case of acatastrophic failure on backhaul/device/interface. The LoRa access canbe, and in some embodiments is, also used to perform software updates onthe CBSD. This approach minimizes downtime and operating expenses (opex)(expensive truck rolls, technician visits), and enhances servicereliability.

FIG. 3 is a drawing of an exemplary communications system 300 inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment. Exemplary communications system300 includes a communications device 202, e.g., a WiFi/WiFi-6 AP(s), aprimary network access device 304, e.g., a WiFi controller, anOperations and management (O&M) and EMS database 310, Internet 314, asecondary network access device 316, e.g., an IoT network AP, e.g., aLoRa AP, and optional secondary network node 318 coupled together asshown in FIG. 3 .

Communications device 302, e.g., a WiFi/WiFi-6 AP(s), includes a primaryinterface 326 and a secondary interface 328. Secondary interface 328includes an embedded IoT sensor 330, e.g., a LoRa sensor. The primarynetwork access device 304, e.g., a WiFi controller, is part of primarynetwork 320. The secondary network access device 316, e.g., an IoTnetwork AP such as a LoRa AP, and in some embodiments, optionalsecondary network nodes 318 are included as part of a secondary network322. The O&M and EMS database 310 is included as part of a managementsystem 324 including one or more management devices.

Communications device 302, e.g., a WiFi/WiFi-6 AP(s), uses primaryinterface 326 to communicate with primary network access device 304,e.g., a WiFi controller, via WiFi backhaul link 332 over which WiFiwired/wireless backhaul signals are communicated. Communications device302, e.g., a WiFi/WiFi-6 AP(s), uses secondary interface 328 tocommunicate with secondary network access device 316, e.g., an IoTnetwork AP such as a LoRa AP, via wireless link 334 over which wirelesssignals, e.g., LoRa wireless signals, are communicated.

Primary network access device 304, e.g., a WiFi controller, is coupledto O&M and EMS database 310 via communications link 336. The O&M and EMSdatabase 310 CBSD database 210 is coupled to the Internet 314 viacommunications link 340.

Secondary network access device 316, e.g., an IoT network AP such as aLoRa AP, is coupled to optional secondary network nodes 318 viacommunications link 350. The optional secondary network nodes 318 arecoupled to the Internet 314 via communications link 352.

FIG. 3 illustrates a third use case example, in accordance with thepresent invention, which is a use case example of WiFi-WiFi-6 APcommissioning/management using an embedded LoRa sensor 330 which is usedto provide secondary access. The WiFi AP 302 can be, and sometimes is,minimally provisioned to ensure secure access through a secondarynetwork 322, e.g. a LoRa access network. In various embodiments, anembedded IoT sensor 330, supporting LoRa access, which was included inWiFi AP 302 together with the subscriber profile can be, and sometimesis, used to provision and bring the WiFi AP 302 online. In anoperational state the WiFi AP 302 can be accessed through the primarynetwork access device 304, e.g., a WiFi controller, of primary network320, e.g. a backhaul network, as well as through the secondary networkaccess device 316, e.g., LoRa AP 316 of secondary network 322, e.g., aLoRa access network. Since LoRa can operate at very low power, evenbattery backup can be used to manage/configure/restore service in caseof a catastrophic failure on backhaul/device/interface. The LoRa accesscan be, and in some embodiments is, also used to perform: softwareupdates, configuration, and reset to factory defaults, on the WiFi AP302. This approach minimizes downtime and operating expenses (opex)(expensive truck rolls, technician visits), and enhances servicereliability.

FIG. 4 is a drawing of an exemplary communications system 400 inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment. Exemplary communications system400 includes a communications device 402, e.g., a DOCSIS modem, aprimary network access device 404, e.g., a Cable Modem TerminationSystem (CMTS) device, an O&M and EMS database 410, Internet 414, asecondary network access device 416, e.g., an IoT network AP, e.g., aLoRa AP, and optional secondary network node 418 coupled together asshown in FIG. 4 .

Communications device 402, e.g., a DOCSIS modem, includes a primaryinterface 426 and a secondary interface 428. Secondary interface 428includes an embedded IoT sensor 430, e.g., a LoRa sensor. The primarynetwork access device 404, e.g., a CMTS device, is part of primarynetwork 420. The secondary network access device 416, e.g., an IoTnetwork AP such as a LoRa AP, and in some embodiments, optionalsecondary network nodes 418 are included as part of a secondary network422. The O&M and EMS database 410 is included as part of a managementsystem 424 including one or more management devices. The primary network420 and management system 424 are included as part of a cable operatornetwork 419.

Communications device 402, e.g., a DOCSIS modem, uses primary interface426 to communicate with primary network access device 404, e.g., a CMTSdevice, via cable link 432 over which cable signals are communicated.Communications device 402, e.g., a DOCSIS modem, uses secondaryinterface 428 to communicate with secondary network access device 416,e.g., an IoT network AP such as a LoRa AP, via wireless link 434 overwhich wireless signals, e.g., LoRa wireless signals, are communicated.

Primary network access device 404, e.g., a CMTS device, is coupled toO&M and EMS database 410 via communications link 436. The O&M and EMSdatabase 310 CBSD database 410 is coupled to the Internet 414 viacommunications link 440.

Secondary network access device 416, e.g., an IoT network AP such as aLoRa AP, is coupled to optional secondary network nodes 418 viacommunications link 450. The optional secondary network nodes 418 arecoupled to the Internet 414 via communications link 452.

FIG. 4 illustrates a third use case example, in accordance with thepresent invention, which is a use case example of Docsis modemcommissioning/management using an embedded LoRa sensor 430 which is usedto provide secondary access. The Docsis modem 402 can be, and sometimesis, minimally provisioned to ensure secure access through a secondarynetwork 422, e.g. a LoRa access network, e.g., often out of the factory.In various embodiments, an embedded IoT sensor 430, supporting LoRaaccess, which was included in Docsis modem 402 together with thesubscriber profile can be, and sometimes is, used to provision and bringthe Docsis modem 402 online. In an operational state the Docsis modem402 can be accessed through the primary network access device 404, e.g.,a CMTS device, of primary network 420, e.g. a backhaul network, as wellas through the secondary network access device 416, e.g., LoRa AP 416 ofsecondary network 422, e.g., a LoRa access network. Since LoRa canoperate at very low power, even battery backup can be used tomanage/configure/restore service in case of a catastrophic failure onbackhaul/device/interface. The LoRa access can be, and in someembodiments is, also used to perform: software updates, configuration,and reset to factory defaults, on the Docsis modem 402. This approachminimizes downtime and operating expenses (opex) (expensive truck rolls,technician visits), and enhances service reliability.

FIG. 5 is a drawing of an exemplary communications system 500 inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment. Exemplary communications system500 includes a communications device 502, e.g., a multi-access IoT hubsupporting various access technologies such as, e.g. WiFi, ZIGBEE, LoRa,etc., a primary network access device 504, e.g., a network node withwired or wireless interface, a controller/core network 506, a SAS 508, aEMS database 510, Internet 514, a secondary network access device 516,e.g., an IoT network AP, e.g., a LoRa/NB-IoT AP, optional secondarynetwork node 518, and a plurality of IoT devices (IoT device 1 560, IoTdevice 2 562, . . . , IoT device n 564) coupled together as shown inFIG. 5 .

Communications device 502, e.g., a multi-access IoT hub supportingvarious technologies is, e.g., located in a home, enterprise, citywireless infrastructure designated location, industry site, hotel, orhospital. Communications device 502, e.g., a multi-access IoT hubsupporting various technologies, includes a primary interface 526 and asecondary interface 528. Secondary interface 528 includes an embeddedIoT sensor 530, e.g., a LoRA/NB-IoT sensor. The primary network accessdevice 504, e.g., a network node with wired or wireless interface, ispart of primary network 520. The secondary network access device 516,e.g., an IoT network AP such as a LoRa/NB-IoT AP, and in someembodiments, optional secondary network nodes 518 are included as partof a secondary network 522. The controller/core network 516, e.g., acore network including one or more core network nodes, SAS 508, and EMSdatabase 510 are included as part of a management system 524 includingone or more management devices.

Communications device 502, e.g., a multi-access IoT hub, uses primaryinterface 526 to communicate with primary network access device 504,e.g., a network node, via wired/wireless backhaul link 532 over whichwired/wireless backhaul signals are communicated. Communications device502, e.g., a multi-access IoT hub, uses secondary interface 528 tocommunicate with secondary network access device 516, e.g., an IoTnetwork AP such as a LoRa/NB-IoT AP, via wireless link 534 over whichwireless signals, e.g., LoRa wireless signals, are communicated.

Primary network access device 504, e.g., a network node, is coupled tocontroller/core network 506 via communications link 542. Thecontroller/core network 506 is coupled to the EMS database 510 viacommunications link 536. The SAS 508 and EMS database 510 are coupled tothe Internet 514 via communications links (538, 540), respectively.

Secondary network access device 516, e.g., an IoT network AP such as aLoRa/NB-IoT AP, is coupled to optional secondary network nodes 518 viacommunications link 550. The optional secondary network nodes 518 arecoupled to the Internet 514 via communications link 552.

The IoT devices (IoT device 1 560, IoT device 2 562, . . . , IoT devicen 564) are coupled to the communications device 502, e.g., amulti-access IoT Thumb, via wireless links (566, 568, . . . , 570),respectively.

FIG. 5 illustrates a fifth use case example, in accordance with thepresent invention, which is a use case example of multi-access IoT hub502 commissioning/management using an embedded LoRa/NB-IoT sensor 530which is used to provide secondary access, e.g., often out of thefactory. The multi-access IoT hub 502 can be, and sometimes is,minimally provisioned to ensure secure access through a secondarynetwork 522, e.g. a LoRa access network, e.g., often out of the factory.In various embodiments, an embedded IoT sensor 530, supporting LoRaaccess, which was included in the multi-access IoT hub 502 together withthe subscriber profile can be, and sometimes is, used to provision andbring the IoT hub 502 online. In an operational state the IoT hub 502can be accessed through the primary network access device 504, e.g., anetwork node, of primary network 520, e.g. a backhaul network, as wellas through the secondary network access device 516, e.g., LoRa AP/NB-IoTAP 516 of secondary network 522, e.g., a LoRa access network. Since LoRacan operate at very low power, even battery backup can be used tomanage/configure/restore service in case of a catastrophic failure onbackhaul/device/interface. The LoRa access can be, and in someembodiments is, also used to perform: software updates, configuration,and reset to factory defaults, on the multi-access IoT hub 502. Thisapproach minimizes downtime and operating expenses (opex) (expensivetruck rolls, technician visits), and enhances service reliability.

FIG. 6 is a drawing of an exemplary communications system 600 inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment. Exemplary communications system600 includes a communications device 602, a primary network accessdevice 604, e.g., with a wired or wireless interface, such as, e.g., anaccess point or cable modem, a controller/core network/core network nodeU 606, an EMS database 610, operator Intranet/Internet 614, a secondarynetwork access device 616, e.g., an IoT network LoRA gateway/AP,optional secondary network node 518, an application server (AS) 615,e.g, a LoRa applications server, and a network server (NS) 617, e.g., aLoRa network server coupled together as shown in FIG. 6 .

Communications device 602 includes a primary interface 626 and asecondary interface 628. Secondary interface 628 includes an embeddedIoT sensor 630, e.g., a LoRa sensor. The primary network access device604, e.g., an AP or cable modem with wired or wireless interface, ispart of primary network 620. The secondary network access device 616,e.g., an IoT network gateway/AP such as a LoRa Gateway/AP, and secondarynetwork nodes (AS 615, NS 617) are included as part of a secondarynetwork 622, e.g., a LoRa network. The AS 615 and NS 617 are part of anoperator/partner's core network 618, e.g., a LaRa core network.

The controller/core network/core network node U 606 and EMS database 610are included as part of an operations and management network and EMSsystem 624 including one or more management devices.

Communications device 602 uses primary interface 626 to communicate withprimary network access device 604, e.g., an AP or cable modem, viawired/wireless backhaul link 632 over which primary accesswired/wireless signals are communicated. Communications device 602 usessecondary interface 628 to communicate with secondary network accessdevice 616, e.g., an IoT network LoRa gateway/access point, via wirelesslink 634 over which wireless signals, e.g., LoRa wireless signals, arecommunicated for alternative access.

Primary network access device 604, e.g., an AP or cable modem, iscoupled to controller/core network/core network node U 606 viacommunications link 642. The controller/core network/core network node U606 is coupled to the EMS database 610 via communications link 636. TheEMS database 610 is coupled to the Internet 614 via communications link640.

Secondary network access device 616, e.g., an IoT access network LoRagateway/AP, is coupled to network server 617, e.g., a LoRa networkserver, via communications link 650. Network server 617 is coupled toapplication server 615, e.g., a LoRa application server, viacommunications link 619. Application server 615 is coupled to operatorIntranet/Internet 614 via communications link 652.

The IoT devices (IoT device 1 560, IoT device 2 562, . . . , IoT devicen 564) are coupled to the communications device 502, e.g., amulti-access IoT Thumb, via wireless links (566, 568, . . . , 570),respectively.

FIG. 6 provides an abstraction or overview of the various use casesdescribed with respect to FIGS. 1-5 , and further provides more detailwith regard to an exemplary secondary network, e.g., a LoRa network.Communications device 602 is, e.g., any of the exemplary communicationsdevices (102, 202, 302, 402 or 502) FIG. 1-5 . FIG. 6 illustrates thatthere is primary access for the communications device 602, which may bewired or wireless, depending on the particular embodiment, and there isan alternative access for the communications device 602, and in someembodiments, LoRa is used for the alternative access.

The communications device 602, e.g., a FWA CPE, CBSD, WiFi AP, Cablemodem, or IoT hub, has an embedded LoRa access device 630. The embeddedLoRa devices such as exemplary device 630, are simple, inexpensive, havewide reachability, can be minimally provisioned to ensure access throughLoRa access network, often out of the factory. For installation of thecommunications device 602, the LoRa access on it together with theprofile information can be used to provision and bring thecommunications device 602 online. In an operational state thecommunications device 602 can be accessed through the backhaul network620, via primary network access device 604, as well as through the LoRaaccess network 622 via secondary network access device 616, e.g., a LoRagateway/AP. Since LoRa can operate at very low power, even batterybackup can be used to manage/configure/restore service in case of acatastrophic failure on backhaul/device/interface. The LoRa access canbe, and in some embodiments is, also used to perform: software updates,re-configuration, and reset to factory defaults, on the communicationsdevice 602. This approach minimizes downtime and operating expenses(opex) (expensive truck rolls, technician visits), and enhances servicereliability.

FIG. 7 shows a method 700 of provisioning a communications device 602and communicating using primary 626 and secondary 628 communicationsinterfaces of the communications device 602 in one exemplary embodiment.

The method 700 begins in step 701 in which configuration information forthe communications device 602 to be used for configuring andcommunicating via the secondary network, e.g. an LoRa network, isstored. The stored information can include LoRa credentials and/or otherinformation. The information stored in step 701 can, and sometimes does,include a device identifier used to identify the device 602 whencommunicating on the secondary communications network and informationneeded to authenticate the device 602 and/or securely communicate overthe secondary communications network such as a shared secret orencryption key to be used by the device 602 to secure communicationsover the secondary network and/or authenticate the device 602. Theinformation stored in step 701 is often loaded by the manufacturer ofthe device 602 and is present, e.g., stored, in the device 602 prior tobeing powered on by a user, e.g., at a customer's premises for the firsttime. As a result of storing the secondary network information in step701 the device has information sufficient to contact and communicateover the secondary interface and secondary network from the point it ispowered on.

In step 702 the communications device 602 communicates, via thesecondary communications interface and secondary communications network,with a management system 624, which can be implemented as a singlemanagement device in some embodiments or a collection of managementdevices in other embodiments. In step 704 the management system 624communicates, via the secondary communications network and the secondaryinterface, with communications device.

Steps 706 through steps 714 illustrate various steps which may beperformed as part of step 702 and/or 704 or in addition to step 702depending on the embodiment. In step 706 the communications device 602sends device information to the management system 624. The deviceinformation can, and sometimes does, include a device identifier storedin the communications device 602 prior to deployment, e.g., at the timeof manufacture, which uniquely identifies the device 602 and is used forpurposes of device identification with respect to communications via thesecondary communications interface. The information can also includedevice capability information, e.g., indicating the type of primaryinterface in the device to be configured, e.g., WIFi, cable modem, LTE,etc., device authentication information and/or other information used toregister and/or establish communications with the secondary network and,through the secondary network with the management system 624. Asdiscussed previously the secondary network can be, and sometimes is, anLoRa network.

In step 708 the secondary network access device 616 receives andforwards the device information along the communications path toward themanagement system 624. In step 710 the communications network 614receives and forwards the device information along the communicationspath toward the management system 624.

In step 712 the management system receives the device information thatwas sent in step 706, recognizes the communications device based on thedevice identifier that is received via the secondary network andretrieves and/or determines configuration information and/or commands tobe sent to the configure the communications device 602 so that it cancommunicate via the primary communications interface. In someembodiments the configuration information includes transmission powerand/or communications band, e.g., frequency band, information that isused to determine transmission power levels and/or frequencies used bythe first communications interface. In some embodiments theconfiguration information includes information provided by an SAS toauthorize the communications device 602 to communicate via the primarycommunications interface. A command instructing the communicationsdevice to implement a particular configuration with respect to the firstcommunications device and/or use a particular device identifier withregard to communication over the first interface is sent in step 714from the management system 624 to the communications device 602. In step716 the communications network 614 receives and forwards theinformation, e.g. command(s) and/or configuration information along acommunications path toward the communications device 602. In step 720the secondary network access device 616 receives and forwards theinformation, e.g. command(s) and/or configuration information along acommunications path toward the communications device 602. In step 720the communications device 602 receives the command(s) and/orconfiguration information and then in step 722 the communications deviceapplies the configuration information, e.g., sets the maximum transmitpower level, frequency band or bands to be used and device identifier tobe used for communication via the first communications interface.

Once the configuration information has been loaded and stored in thedevice's memory, the processor of the communications device 602 controlsthe device 602, in step 724 to communicate with another communicationsdevice via the first communications interface, e.g., using the suppliedconfiguration information which may, and often does, include a deviceidentifier, an encryption key and/or shared secret to be used forcommunication via the first communications interface.

Once configured the communication in step 724 may, and often does,involve the sending of user application data, e.g., voice data for acall, video data for a video application or text data for text messagesor word processing documents, e.g., sent to or received from anothercommunications device via the primary communications network.Communication in step 724 can also include communication of new orupdated first communications interface configuration information. Forexample, in step 720 basic configuration can be received which requiresrelatively little data to be received but with the informationsufficient to authorize and enable at least a minimal level ofcommunication via the primary communications interface. In someembodiments the configuration information 720 is a value orconfiguration indicator identifying or specifying which one of aplurality of preloaded default configurations the communications deviceshould use for communication, e.g., initial communication, over theprimary communications interface. Once active the higher data rateprimary communications interface and be used for configuration updatesand/or the transmission of user data.

In some but not necessarily all embodiments communication via thesecondary interface is restricted to device configuration and controlinformation, e.g., authentication, registration and control information,with application data being required to be communicated via the primarycommunications network. The secondary communications interface with itsrelatively long range but low average data rate compared to the primarycommunications interface in some embodiments is well suited for such acontrol and configuration application. In some embodimentscommunications over the secondary network is limited to initialconfiguration and configuration/control operations implemented when theprimary communications interface is unavailable due to configuration orother failure. Given that the use of the secondary network interface islimited in some embodiments to device management and control includingdevice configuration, the amount of data transmitted via the secondcommunications network is relatively small compared to the amount ofdata transmitted over the primary communications interface allowing alarge number of devices to share and used the secondary network in thediscussed manner for control and configuration.

Having explained how a communications device 602 can be initiallyconfigured and controlled via the secondary communications interfaceupon deployment or initial use, additional use of the secondarycommunications interface will be discussed with respect to FIG. 8 .

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary method 800 of communicating and updatingconfiguration information after the provisioning shown in FIG. 7 hasbeen completed. The method shown in FIG. 8 may be implemented, e.g.,after a device is powered off or inactive but following initialconfiguration as discussed with regard to the method of FIG. 7 .

In step 802 the communication device enables the primary communicationsinterface, e.g., using the configuration information previously obtainedvia the secondary communications interface. In step 804 communicationsis then established with a primary network access device 604, e.g., awireless access point or device used to connect the primarycommunications network to the communications device. Step 806 representsthe primary network access device 604 receiving and/or sendinginformation to the communications device and authenticating/registeringthe communications device 602 if necessary for communication via theprimary communications network. Once communications with the primarynetwork access point is established, the communications device 602 canproceed to communicate with other devices via the primary network accesspoint 604, as indicated by step 808. The bi-directional communication ofdata between the communications device 602 and the access point 604 isrepresented by steps 810 and 812. In step 810 the communications device602 sends and/or receives data via the access point 604 and primarycommunication network. The data may be part of a voice call with anotherdevice, video session, text message operation and/or another userapplication such as using the Internet or browsing the Internet for oneor more items to purchase or for information.

With the primary communications interface active, in step 814 thecommunications device 602 uses the primary communications interface toprovide device status and/or information to the management system 624and to receive updated configuration and/or control information from themanagement system. Step 816 represents the management system 624receiving information from the communications device 602 and respondingwith new or updated on configuration or control commands. Thus it shouldbe appreciated that the higher speed primary communications interface isused as the main communications channel for not only user data but alsocontrol and configuration information when the primary communicationsinterface is enabled and functional with the secondary interface beingavailable for supporting control and configuration operations when thereis a failure with regard to the primary communications network orprimary communications interface.

Following the receipt of updated configuration information in stepand/or a command, the communications device 602 implements the newconfiguration and/or command in step 818. Then in step 820 thecommunications device 602 resumes or initiates new communication withone or more devices via the primary network access device 604. Step 822represents the primary network access point 604 communicating datato/from the communications device 602 as part of the device'scommunication via the first communications network with another device.For example the communications device 602 could be a cell phone orcomputer which in step 820 communicates with another cell phone orcomputer via access point 604.

Thus from the FIG. 8 discussion it should be appreciated that whenoperational the primary communications interface can be, and sometimesis, used for device and/configuration updates or control and that thesecondary communications interface need not be used for this purposewhile connectivity exists via the primary communications networkinterface.

It should be appreciated that the secondary communications interface isnot only useful for initial configuration of the primary communicationinterface but can also be used to reconfigure or control thecommunications device in the event of a failure with regard tocommunication via the primary interface. For example in the case of aloss of power the primary interface may become disabled and theconfiguration out of date or the authorization to use primary networkresources may expire and need to be reauthorized without use of theprimary network interface.

FIG. 9 , shows a method 900 which includes the combination of FIGS. 9A,9B, and 9C identified by reference numbers 901, 911 and 921respectively. The method 900 can be, and sometimes is, implemented torestore or reconfigure the primary network interface via informationand/or commands communicated from the management system via thesecondary network and obtained via the secondary communicationsinterface of the communications device 602.

FIG. 9 shows the steps of detecting and mitigating a communicationsfailure with respect to a primary communications interface using asecondary wireless communications interface in accordance with oneexemplary embodiment.

The method 900 begins in step 902 which can be seen in FIG. 9A with thecommunications device 602 communicating via the primary communicationsinterface with another communications device and/or the managementsystem 624. Step 903 represents the access point of the primary networksending and receiving information as part of the communications that isimplemented in step 902.

While the communications device is successfully using the primarycommunications interface a fault may occur, e.g., wire power outage mayoccur at the communications device 602, interference or use of a higherpriority device may prevent use of the spectrum, e.g., frequency bandbeing used by the communications device 602 or a hardware fault maycause a communications failure with respect to the primarycommunications interface. The failure may result in the communicationsdevice 602 losing the ability to communicate via the primary interfacedue to a configuration setting or for some other reason such as powerloss. To reactivate the primary interface the management system 624 mayneed to supply updated configuration information and/or authorizationfor the primary interface to use communications resources and or aparticular transmit power level.

In the FIG. 9 example either the communications device 602 or themanagement system 624 may detect a communications failure over theprimary communications interface which prevents communications with thecommunications device 602 via the primary interface. Following detectionof the communications failure with respect to the primary communicationsinterface, communication is restored via control and/or configurationinformation being provided via the secondary interface with thecommunications device optionally supplying status and/or configurationinformation to the management system to facilitate the managementdetermining what action or configuration change should be made torestore communications functionality, e.g., at least a minimal level offunctionality, to the first communications interface.

The method of FIG. 9 , which comprises the combination of FIG. 9A FIG.9B, and FIG. 9C, begins in step 902 with the communications device usingthe primary interface to communicate with one or more other devices,e.g., communications devices and/or a management system device. Step 902occurs after the device 602 has already been configured to use theprimary interface, e.g., as described with regard to FIG. 7 . Step 903represents the primary network access device 604 sending and receivingdata and/or other information to/from the communications device tosupport step 902, e.g., with the access node 604 being an intermediatenode through which the communicated information passes.

Step 904, 916, and 918 relate to the case where the communicationsdevice 602 monitors communications via the first communicationsinterface and will request assistance from the management system in theevent of detailing a communications failure on the first communicationsinterface. These steps need not be performed in embodiments wheredetection of a communications failure and reconfiguration is initiatedfrom the network side, e.g., by the management system 624. However, insome embodiments both the management system 624 and the communicationsdevice monitor for communications failures and the device 602 or system624 which detects the failure first will begin the process of restoringservice to the communications device's primary communications interface.Steps 922, 924 926 relate to the process of the management system 624detecting a communications failure and initiating the communicationsrestoration process. Thus it should be appreciated that steps 904, 916and 918 may be performed in some cases and in other cases where themanagement system 624 detects the communications failure steps 922, 924and 916 are performed. Following detection of a communications failurethe restoration process using the secondary interface will proceed.

In the case of monitoring and communications failure detection by thecommunications device 602, steps 904, 916 and 918 are performed. In step904 the communications device 602 monitors the status of communicationsover the primary communications network conducted via the primarycommunications interface. In step 916 the communications device 602detects a failure of communications via the primary communicationsinterface, e.g., an inability to send and/or receive communications,e.g., data, via the primary communications interface. In response todetecting the communications failure in step 916, operation proceeds tostep 918 in which the communications device 602 sends a request to amanagement device in the management system 624 via the secondaryinterface and secondary network seeking assistance with regard torestoring communication via the primary interface. In step 920 themanagement system 624 receives the request for assistance send from thecommunications device 602 which detected a communications fault. As partof the request the communications device 602 may, and sometimes does,send current configuration information, information on power availablyat the communications device, e.g., whether wired power or only batterypower is available and/or other information including information aboutthe last successfully used configuration which is different from thecurrent primary interface configuration which is no longer functional.By receiving information about the current and previous configuration aswell as other device information, the management system 624 is apprised,via the secondary communications interface, of information which can beuseful in determining what action to take and/or what configurationshould be used on the primary communications interface.

In the case where the management system 624 monitors and detects acommunications fault with regard to the primary communications interfaceof device 602, steps 922 through 940 shown in FIG. 9B are performed. Instep 922 the management system 624 monitoring the status of thecommunications link of the communications device 602 with the primarycommunications network, e.g., by monitoring communications to and/orfrom the first communications interface of the communications device602. In step 924 the management system 624 detects a communicationsfault with respect to the primary communications interface ofcommunications device 602, e.g., non-reachability of the communicationsdevice 602 through the primary access network. This may be done by themanagement system 624 detecting a failure to receive an expectedregistration message sent by the communications device 602 atpredetermined intervals to maintain the primary communications linkand/or detecting a failure to respond to a message or signal from themanagement system 624 sent to the primary communications interface viathe primary communications network.

In response to detecting a communications failure with respect to theprimary communications interface of device 602, operation proceeds tostep 926 in which the management system 624 retrieves the associatedsecondary network ID and/or other information required to contact thecommunications device 602 via the secondary communications interface andsecondary communications network. Then in step 926 the management system624 sends a message to the communication device 602 via the secondarycommunications network as evidenced by forwarding steps 928, 930. Instep 932 the communications device 602 receives, via its secondaryinterface and the secondary communications network, the request forhealth, status and/or configuration information. In step 934 thecommunications device 602 responds via the secondary communicationsinterface, e.g., by providing the requested information which may be thesame or similar to that included in the request for assistance sent instep 918 in embodiments where the failure is detected by thecommunications device. In step 934 the communications device 602, insome embodiments, sends not only its current configuration and statusinformation but also indicates the last configuration that was used tosuccessfully communicate via the first interface that was different formthe configuration that was in use when the failure occurred. The requestfor health/status/information is optional in some embodiments. In atleast some embodiments the management system can access storedconfiguration information and determine device status based on whetheror not it can be reached via the primary communications network. In atleast some such cases the management system can send commands and/orreconfiguration information, via the secondary network, to thecommunications device 602 when it becomes unreachable via the primarycommunications network without first receiving status/health and/orconfiguration information from the communications device via thesecondary network.

In step 940 the management system 624 receives the health/status and/orconfiguration information sent via the secondary communicationsinterface and secondary communications network. Steps 936 and 938represent the receiving and forwarding of thehealth/status/configuration by the secondary network access device 616and communications network 614.

With the management system 624 in communication with the communicationsdevice 602, and in some cases having receivedstatus/configuration/health information from the device in either steps920 and/or 940 operation proceeds to step 950 shown in FIG. 9C. In step950 the management system 624 sends a command and/or configurationinformation to the communications device 602 to facilitate restorationof at least a minimal level of communication via the primarycommunications interface of the device 602. In some embodiments thecommand is a reset command, e.g., to reset the configuration of thedevice to a default configuration or the last successful configurationprior to the configuration used during the communications failure. Thecommand may be a reconfigure command instructing the device to change,e.g., the frequency band used, a power level or some other devicesetting. The command and/or configuration is communicated to thecommunications device 602 via the secondary configuration interface andin many cases can be sent using relatively few bits. For example acommand to reset to the last default setting can be sent using one or afew bytes of data. Thus it should be appreciated that in many casesrestoration information can be sent in a compact manner via therelatively low data rate secondary interface where the secondaryinterface in many cases supports an average data rate less than 1/10thor 1/100th or even 1/1000th that of the primary interface.

Steps 952, 954 represent the forwarding of the command/information sentin step 950 by the communications network 614 and secondary networkaccess device 616. In step 956 the command and/or configurationinformation sent in step 950 is received via the secondarycommunications interface of the communications device 602. Following thereceipt of the command in step 956, in step 958 the communicationsdevice 602 implements the command and/or configuration and then proceedsin step 960 to further communicate with the management system 624 viathe primacy communications interface. Communication in step 960 mayinvolve use of a minimal level of access achieved after implementing thecommand/configuration change received in step 958. In step 968 themanagement system supplies optional additional updates via the primarycommunications interface to bring the communications device 602 to fullservice. The additional updates may include software or operating systempatches to be applied by the device 602 which can be several megabytesin size and which may be, and sometimes are, too large to send via thesecondary communications interface of the device 602. Steps 964, 966represent the communication of information and/or data including updatesbetween the communications device 602 and 624 via primary network accessdevice 604 and communications network 614 as part of performing anadditional update of device 602 via the primary communicationsinterface.

Once the update had been completed operation proceeds to step 970 inwhich the communication device proceeds with full duplex communicationvia the primary communication network and supports, via the primarycommunications network and primary interface services including voice,data and/or video services. In step 972 the primary network, includingprimary network access point 604 provides services to the communicationsdevice 602.

While in some embodiments the secondary interface is powered wheneverthe primary interface is powered, in some other embodiments duringperiods of time in which the primary interface is active andcommunication is supported via the primary interface, the secondaryinterface is powered off and not used. The processor in thecommunications device 602 is responsible for controlling whether thesecondary interface is in a powered on or powered off state. Thus insome embodiments following detection of the failure condition in step916, the communication device will power on the secondary interfacewhich was in a powered off state at the time the failure of the primaryinterface was detected. This occurs in optional step 917. Once poweredon the secondary interface is used in step 918 to send the request forassistance. The secondary interface is powered off after communicationis restored via the primary interface in such embodiments, e.g., inoptional step 961. In this way power can be conserved and interferenceassociated with transmissions and/or operation of the secondaryinterface can be avoided. Such embodiments are normally embodimentswhere the condition of the primary interface is monitored by thecommunications device 602 and restoration of primary interface operationafter a fault involves the communications device 602 powering on thesecondary interface after detection of a failure condition with respectto the primary interface. In at least some embodiments the secondaryinterface is then powered down after restoration of communication viathe primary communications interface, e.g., after step 960 of FIG. 9Csuch as in step 961.

FIG. 10 is a drawing of an exemplary communications device 1000, e.g., aFWA CPE, a CBRS CBSD, a WiFi/Wi-Fi-6 AP, a Docsis modem, or amulti-access IoT hub device, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.Exemplary communications device 1000 is, e.g., any of communicationsdevice 102 of FIG. 1 , communications device 202 of FIG. 2 ,communications device 302 of FIG. 4 , communications device 402 of FIG.4 , communications device 502 of FIG. 5 , or communications device 602of FIGS. 6-9 .

Communications device 1000 includes a primary interface 1002, asecondary interface 1004, a processor 1006, e.g., a COU, an assembly ofhardware components 1008, e.g., an assembly of circuits, an I/Ointerface 1010, and memory 1012 coupled together via a bus 1014 overwhich the various elements may interchange data and information.Communications device 1000 further includes a battery 1090, e.g., usedto supply power and allow communications via the secondary interface1004 during line power outages. In some embodiments communicationsdevice 1000 further includes additional wired and/or wireless interfaces1016 for communicating with devices, e.g., UE's, CPEs, and/or IoTdevices.

In some embodiments, the communications device 1000 further includes oneor more or all of: microphone 1058, speaker 1060, switches 1062, display1064, e.g., a touchscreen display, keypad 1066, mouse 1068 and camera1070, which are coupled to bus 1014 via I/O interface 1010.

Memory 1012 includes assembly of components 1054, e.g., an assembly ofsoftware components, and data/information 1056.

Primary interface 1002, e.g., a CBRS wireless interface included in aFWA CPE, a CBSD backhaul interface included in a CBRS CBSD, a WiFibackhaul interface, a Docsis modem interface, or a IoT hub backhaulinterface, includes a wired interface 1018 and/or a wireless interface1020, e.g., depending upon the particular embodiment. Wired interface1018 includes a receiver 1022 and a transmitter 1024 coupled to wiredcable or bus 1026 via which the communications device 1000 may receiveand send signals to a primary network access device. Wireless interface1020 includes a wireless receiver 1028 coupled to one or more receiveantennas (1032, . . . 1034) via which the communications device mayreceive wireless signals from a primary network access device. Wirelessinterface 1020 further includes a wireless transmitter 1030 coupled toone or more transmit antennas (1036, . . . 1038) via which thecommunications device may transmit wireless signals to a primary networkaccess device. In some embodiments one or more of the same antennas areused for both receive and transmit.

Secondary interface 1004, e.g., an IoT access network interfacesupporting LaRa and/or NB-IoT, includes an embedded IoT sensor 1040supporting LaRa and/or NB-IoT. Embedded IoT sensor 1040 includes awireless receiver 1042 coupled to one or more receive antennas (1046, .. . , 1048) via which the communications device 1000 may receivewireless signals, e.g. LoRa and/or NB-IoT wireless signals, from asecondary network access device. Embedded IoT sensor 1040 furtherincludes a wireless transmitter 1044 coupled to one or more transmitantennas (1050, . . . , 1052) via which the communications device 1000may transmit wireless signals, e.g. LoRa and/or NB-IoT wireless signals,to a secondary network access device. In some embodiments, one or moreof the same antennas are used for both receive and transmit.

Additional wired and/or wireless interface(s) 1016, which includes oneor more receivers and one or more transmitters, is coupled to one ormore antennas (1072, . . . , 1072) and/or to cable or bus 1076 via whichthe communications device 100 may receive and transmit signal to UEs,CPEs, and/or IoT devices, e.g., a UE or CPE being served by a CBSD orWiFi AP, a CPE being served by a Docsis cable modem, and IoT devicesbeing served by a multi-access IoT hub.

Exemplary communications device 1000 may, and sometimes does, implementsteps of a method described with respect to FIGS. 7, 8 and/or 9 .

FIG. 11 is a drawing of an exemplary management system 1100, e.g., amanagement device, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. Exemplarymanagement system 1110 is, e.g., any of management system 124 of FIG. 1, management system 224 of FIG. 2 , management system 324 of FIG. 3 ,management system 424 of FIG. 4 , management system 524 of FIG. 5 , ormanagement system 624 of FIG. 6-9 . Exemplary management system 1100may, and sometimes does, implement steps of a method described withrespect to FIGS. 7, 8 and/or 9 .

Management system 1100 includes a first network interface 1102, a secondnetwork interface 1103, a processor 1104, e.g., a CPU, an assembly ofhardware components 1106, e.g., an assembly of circuits, and memory 1108coupled to a bus 1110 over which the various elements may interchangedata and information. In some embodiments, the management system 1100includes one or more or all of: a controller/core network component1112, a SAS component 1114, an EMS/FWA CPE database 1116, an EMS/CBSDdatabase 1118, an O&M and EMS database 1120, an EMS database 1122, and aservice provider domain proxy 1124 coupled to bus 1110.

First network interface 1102, e.g., a wired or optical interface,includes a receiver 1126 and a transmitter 1128. In some embodiments,the receiver 1126 and transmitter 1128 are included as part of atransceiver 1130. The management system 1100 receives signals from corenetwork nodes and/or primary network nodes via receiver 1126. Themanagement system 1100 transmits signals to core network nodes and/orprimary network nodes via transmitter 1128.

Second network interface 1103, e.g., a wired or optical interface,includes a receiver 1127 and a transmitter 1129. In some embodiments,the receiver 1127 and transmitter 1129 are included as part of atransceiver 1131. The management system 1100 receives signals from anIntranet, the Internet, and/or secondary network nodes network nodes viareceiver 1127. The management system 1100 transmits signals to anIntranet, the Internet, and/or secondary network nodes network nodes viatransmitter 1129.

Memory 1108 includes an assembly of components 1132, e.g., an assemblyof software components, and data/information 1134.

FIG. 12 , comprising the combination of FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B, is adrawing of an exemplary assembly of components 1200, comprising Part A1201 and Part B 1203, which may be included in an exemplarycommunications device, e.g., communications device 1000 of FIG. 10 , inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment.

Assembly of components 1200 can be, and in some embodiments is, used incommunications device 1000, of FIG. 10 , communications device 102 ofFIG. 1 , communications device 202 of FIG. 2 , communications device 302of FIG. 3 , communications device 402 of FIG. 4 , communications device502 of FIG. 5 , and/or communications device 602 of FIGS. 6-9 . Thecomponents in the assembly of components 1200 can, and in someembodiments are, implemented fully in hardware within the processor1006, e.g., as individual circuits. The components in the assembly ofcomponents 1200 can, and in some embodiments are, implemented fully inhardware within the assembly of components 1008, e.g., as individualcircuits corresponding to the different components. In other embodimentssome of the components are implemented, e.g., as circuits, within theprocessor 1006 with other components being implemented, e.g., ascircuits within assembly of components 1008, external to and coupled tothe processor 1006. As should be appreciated the level of integration ofcomponents on the processor and/or with some components being externalto the processor may be one of design choice. Alternatively, rather thanbeing implemented as circuits, all or some of the components may beimplemented in software and stored in the memory 1012 of thecommunications device 1000, with the components controlling operation ofthe communications device to implement the functions corresponding tothe components when the components are executed by a processor, e.g.,processor 1006. In some such embodiments, the assembly of components1200 is included in the memory 1012 as assembly of components 1054. Instill other embodiments, various components in assembly of components1200 are implemented as a combination of hardware and software, e.g.,with another circuit external to the processor 1006 providing input tothe processor 1006 which then under software control operates to performa portion of a component's function. While processor 1006 is shown inthe FIG. 10 embodiment as a single processor, e.g., computer, it shouldbe appreciated that the processor 1006 may be implemented as one or moreprocessors, e.g., computers.

When implemented in software the components include code, which whenexecuted by the processor 1006, configure the processor 1006 toimplement the function corresponding to the component. In embodimentswhere the assembly of components 1200 is stored in the memory 1012, thememory 1012 is a computer program product comprising a computer readablemedium comprising code, e.g., individual code for each component, forcausing at least one computer, e.g., processor 1006, to implement thefunctions to which the components correspond.

Completely hardware based or completely software based components may beused. However, it should be appreciated that any combination of softwareand hardware, e.g., circuit implemented components may be used toimplement the functions. As should be appreciated, the componentsillustrated in FIG. 12 control and/or configure the communicationsdevice 1000, or elements therein such as the processor 1006, to performthe functions of corresponding steps illustrated and/or described in themethod of one or more of the flowcharts, signaling diagrams and/ordescribed with respect to any of the Figures. Thus the assembly ofcomponents 1200 includes various components that perform functions ofcorresponding one or more described and/or illustrated steps of anexemplary method, e.g., steps of the method of signaling flow diagram700 of FIG. 7 , signaling flow diagram 800 of FIG. 8 , steps of thesignaling flow diagram 900 of FIG. 9 and/or described or shown withrespect to any of the other figures.

Assembly of components 1200 includes a component 1202 configured tostore secondary network, e.g., LoRa access network, credentials in thecommunications device, a component 1204 configured to operate thecommunications device to communicate, e.g., via the second (secondary)communications interface and secondary communications network with amanagement system, a component 1206 configured to send, e.g., via thesecond interface and secondary network, device information to themanagement system, a component 1208 configured to receive, via thesecond interface, configuration information from the management system,a component 1210 configured to apply the received configurationinformation, and a component 1212 configured to operate thecommunication device to communicate with another communications devicevia a first (primary) communications interface, e.g., using the suppliedconfigured information.

Assembly of components 1200 further includes a component 1214 configuredto enable primary communications interface, e.g., after beingprovisioned with at least some information received via the secondarycommunications interface, a component 1216 configured to establishcommunications with a primary network access device, a component 1218configured to operate the communications device to proceed with datacommunications, e.g., full duplex communications via the primarycommunications interface on the desired primary communications interfaceand offer services available via the primary network such as voice,video and/or text messaging, a component 1220 configured to operate thecommunications device to communicate user data via the primarycommunications interface, and a component 1222 configured to operate thecommunications device to provide status information and receive updatedcontrol and/or configuration information from a device in the managementsystem via the primary communications system and the primary accessnetwork.

Assembly of components 1200 further includes a component 1224 configuredto implement a received command and/or update configuration, a component1226 configured to operate the communications device to communicate userdata via a first communication network (primary communications network)in accordance with the updated configuration, a component 1228configured to operate the communications device to communicate viaprimary communications interface and primary communications network withone or more other devices, a component 1230 configured to monitor thestatus of communications over the primary communications networkconducted via primary communications interface, a component 1232configured to detect failure of communications via the primarycommunications interface, a component 1234 configured to operate thecommunications device to send a request to management device viasecondary interface and secondary network seeking assistance, acomponent 1236 configured to operate the communications device toreceive a request for heath/status/configuration information, and acomponent 1238 configured to operate the communications device to sendhealth/status/configuration information, e.g. to the management systemin response to a received request. Assembly of components 1200 furtherincludes a component 1240 configured to operate the communicationsdevice to receive a command and/or configuration information via thesecondary interface for use with regard to the primary interface, acomponent 1242 configured to implement a received command and/or aconfiguration, e.g. based on received configuration information, acomponent 1244 configured to operate the communications device tocommunicate with the management system via primary interface, e.g. usingat least minimal access obtained after implementingcommand/configuration change, and a component 1246 configured to operatethe communications device to proceed with full duplex communicationoperation via the primary communication network and support servicesincluding voice, data and/or video services via the primarycommunications interface and primary communication network.

FIG. 13 is a drawing of an exemplary assembly of components 1300 whichmay be included in an exemplary management system, e.g., managementsystem 1100 of FIG. 11 , in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

Assembly of components 1300 can be, and in some embodiments is, used inmanagement system 1100, of FIG. 11 , management system 124 of FIG. 1 ,management system 224 of FIG. 2 , management system 324 of FIG. 3 ,management system 424 of FIG. 4 , management system 524 of FIG. 5 ,and/or management system 624 of FIGS. 6-9 . The components in theassembly of components 1300 can, and in some embodiments are,implemented fully in hardware within the processor 11104, e.g., asindividual circuits. The components in the assembly of components 1300can, and in some embodiments are, implemented fully in hardware withinthe assembly of components 1106, e.g., as individual circuitscorresponding to the different components. In other embodiments some ofthe components are implemented, e.g., as circuits, within the processor1104 with other components being implemented, e.g., as circuits withinassembly of components 1106, external to and coupled to the processor1104. As should be appreciated the level of integration of components onthe processor and/or with some components being external to theprocessor may be one of design choice. Alternatively, rather than beingimplemented as circuits, all or some of the components may beimplemented in software and stored in the memory 1108 of the managementsystem 1100, with the components controlling operation of the managementsystem 1100 to implement the functions corresponding to the componentswhen the components are executed by a processor, e.g., processor 1104.In some such embodiments, the assembly of components 1300 is included inthe memory 1108 as assembly of components 1132. In still otherembodiments, various components in assembly of components 1300 areimplemented as a combination of hardware and software, e.g., withanother circuit external to the processor 1104 providing input to theprocessor 1104 which then under software control operates to perform aportion of a component's function. While processor 1104 is shown in theFIG. 11 embodiment as a single processor, e.g., computer, it should beappreciated that the processor 1104 may be implemented as one or moreprocessors, e.g., computers.

When implemented in software the components include code, which whenexecuted by the processor 1104, configure the processor 1104 toimplement the function corresponding to the component. In embodimentswhere the assembly of components 1300 is stored in the memory 1108, thememory 1108 is a computer program product comprising a computer readablemedium comprising code, e.g., individual code for each component, forcausing at least one computer, e.g., processor 1104, to implement thefunctions to which the components correspond.

Completely hardware based or completely software based components may beused. However, it should be appreciated that any combination of softwareand hardware, e.g., circuit implemented components may be used toimplement the functions. As should be appreciated, the componentsillustrated in FIG. 13 control and/or configure the management system1100, or elements therein such as the processor 1104, to perform thefunctions of corresponding steps illustrated and/or described in themethod of one or more of the flowcharts, signaling diagrams and/ordescribed with respect to any of the Figures. Thus the assembly ofcomponents 1300 includes various components that perform functions ofcorresponding one or more described and/or illustrated steps of anexemplary method, e.g., steps of the method of signaling flow diagram700 of FIG. 7 , signaling flow diagram 800 of FIG. 8 , steps of thesignaling flow diagram 900 of FIG. 9 and/or described or shown withrespect to any of the other figures. In some embodiments some of thecomponents in assembly of components 1300 are implemented by one or moreof: controller/core network component 1112, a SAS component 1114, anEMS/FWA CPE database 1116, an EMS/CBSD database 1118, an O&M and EMSdatabase 1120, an EMS database 1122, and a service provider domain proxy1124.

Assembly of components 1300 includes a component 1302 configured tooperate the management system to communicate, e.g., via the secondcommunications interface and second communications network, with acommunications device, a component 1304 configured to operate themanagement system to receive device information from the communicationdevice, e.g., communicated via the second communications network, acomponent 1306 configured to operate the management system to recognizethe communications device and retrieve/determine configurationinformation and/or commands to be sent to the communications device toconfigured the communications device to allow the communications deviceto be able to communicate via the primary communications interface, acomponent 1306 configured to operate the management system to send theretrieved and/or determined configuration information to thecommunications device, a component 1310 configured to operate themanagement system to receive status information and to provide update dcontrol and/or configuration information to the communications device, acomponent 1312 configured to operate the management system to monitorstatus of the communication link of the communication device with theprimary communications network, a component 1314 configured to operatethe management system, e.g., operator O&M and/or EMS system, to detectnon-reachability to the communications device through the primary accessnetwork indicating failure of communications with the communicationsdevice via the primary communications interface, and a component 1316configured to operate the management system to receive a request fromthe communications device seeking assistance.

Assembly of components 1300 includes a component 1318 configured tooperate the management system to retrieve the associated secondarynetwork ID and/or credentials for the communications device andcommunicate, e.g. request health information from, the communicationsdevice via the secondary network, e.g., as part of a health check, acomponent 1320 configured to operate the management system to send arequest to the communications device for health/status/configurationinformation, a component 1322 configured to operate the managementsystem to receive health/status configuration information, a component1324 configured to operate the management system to send a command tothe communications device to take action, alone or with confirmationinformation, to restore service to the primary communications interface,e.g., a command to: reset, reconfigure, apply a software patch, reset tofactory defaults, or reset the last successful configuration for theprimary communications interface, and a component 1326 configured tooperate the management system to communicate with the communicationsdevice via the primary interface, e.g. using at least minimal accessobtained after the communications device implements thecommand/configuration change.

Numbered List of Exemplary Method Embodiments

Method Embodiment 1 A method of operating a communications deviceincluding a first (primary) communications interface and a second(secondary) communications interface, the method comprising: storing(701) (e.g., prior to deployment at a customer premises location), inthe communications device, secondary communications network credentials,the secondary communications network credentials being for use via thesecond communications interface, said second communication interfacebeing a wireless communications interface which is one of: i) a LongRange (LoRa) wireless interface which uses sub-GHz unlicensed spectrumor ii) a Narrow Band-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) wireless interfacewhich uses licensed spectrum; communicating (702) via the secondinterface and a secondary communications network (e.g., a low-powerwide-area network (LPWAN) such as a LoRa communications network or aNB-IoT network) with a management system; receiving (720) from themanagement system configuration information for configuring thecommunications device to communicate over the first (primary)communications interface; and operating (724) the communications deviceto communicate, in accordance with the received configurationinformation, via the first communications interface.

Method Embodiment 2 The method of Method Embodiment 1, wherein operating(724) the communications device to communicate via the firstcommunications interface includes communicating traffic data via thefirst communications interface, said traffic data including at least oneof: i) user data (e.g., voice or video corresponding to a voice or videocall), ii) sensor data or iii) application data (e.g., text messages,WORD documents, etc); and wherein said second communications interfaceis not used to communicate user data or application data.

Method Embodiment 3 The method of Method Embodiment 2, wherein saidsecond communications interface supports a lower maximum averagetransmission data rate than said first communications interface.

Method Embodiment 4 The method of Method Embodiment 3, wherein saidsecond communications interface is a long range interface, a secondtransmission range of wireless signals sent via the secondcommunications interface being greater than a first maximum transmissionrange of wireless signals sent via the first communications interface.

Method Embodiment 5 The method of Method Embodiment 1, wherein saidconfiguration information includes provisioning information used toconfigure the first communications interface, said configurationinformation includes at least one of: (but could be one, more or allof): i) transmission power level information indicating a maximumtransmit power level to be used for wireless transmissions made usingthe first communications interface, ii) first security information(e.g., a first encryption key) to be used for securing communications(e.g., encrypting/decrypting) sent via the first communicationsinterface; iii) a first identifier to be used by the communicationsdevice, said first identifier identifying the communications device viatransmissions made via the first communications interface (e.g., an SSIDor device ID transmitted via the first communications interface).

Method Embodiment 6 The method of Method Embodiment 5, wherein saidsecondary communications network credentials includes at least one (butpossibly all) of: i) a second identifier assigned to said communicationsdevice prior to deployment of said communications device; and ii) anencryption key or shared secret to be used for securing communicationsvia said second communications interface.

Method Embodiment 7 The method of Method Embodiment 6, wherein saidfirst and second identifiers are different.

Method Embodiment 8 The method of Method Embodiment 6, wherein saidfirst communications interface is one of a wired or wirelesscommunications interface; and wherein said second communicationsinterface is a wireless interface.

Method Embodiment 9 The method of Method Embodiment 1, furthercomprising: communicating (918) at least one of i) status or ii)configuration information to the management system following a failure(complete or partial communications failure) via the first (primary)communications interface; receiving (956) at least one of i) updatedconfiguration information or ii) a control command from the managementsystem; and implementing (970) communication via the first (primary)communications interface (e.g., begin full duplex communication via theprimary interface again) after implementing the control command (e.g.,restore previous configuration or restore factory default setting) orusing the updated configuration information (e.g., new securityinformation, frequency band, etc.) received via the second (secondary)communications interface.

Method Embodiment 10 The method of Method Embodiment 9, whereincommunications via the second (secondary) communications interface isimplemented via backup power following a loss of wire supplied powerresulting in a communication failure via the first (primary)communications interface or a loss of configuration information due to awire supplied power failure.

Method Embodiment 11 The method of Method Embodiment 10, furthercomprising: operating (916) the communications device to detect acommunications failure with regard to communications via the firstcommunications interface; and wherein said step of communicating (918)at least one of: i) status or ii) configuration information to themanagement system following a failure (complete or partialcommunications failure) via the first (primary) communications interfaceis performed by said communications device in response to detecting(916) the communications failure.

Method Embodiment 12 The method of Method Embodiment 1, furthercomprising: receiving (932) via the second (secondary) communicationsinterface (from the management system) a request for device status orconfiguration information, said request being received after detection,by said management system, of a communications failure with regard tothe first communications interface that prevents communication with thecommunications device via the first communications interface.

Method Embodiment 13 The method of Method Embodiment 12, furthercomprising: responding (934) to said request for device status orconfiguration information by communicating at least one of: i) status orii) configuration information to the management system following thefailure.

Method Embodiment 14 The method of Method Embodiment 5, wherein saidcommunications device is a fixed wireless access (FWA) customer premisesequipment (CPE) device with an embedded IoT sensor.

Method Embodiment 15 The method of Method Embodiment 5, wherein thecommunications device is a Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS)Citizens Broadband radio Service Device (CBSD) and wherein the receivedinformation for configuring the communications device to communicateover the first communications interface (primary network interface)includes a CBSD identifier (CBSD-ID) to be used for communication overthe first communications interface.

Method Embodiment 16 The method of Method Embodiment 5, wherein thecommunications device is a Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS)Citizens Broadband radio Service Device (CBSD) and wherein said firstcommunications interface is a wired interface.

Method Embodiment 17 The method of Method Embodiment 5, wherein thecommunications device is a WiFi access point and wherein said firstcommunications interface is a WiFi interface.

Method Embodiment 18 The method of Method Embodiment 5, wherein thecommunications device is a Docsis modem, wherein said firstcommunications interface is a cable interface and wherein said secondinterface is an LoRa interface included in said Docsis modem.

Method Embodiment 19 The method of Method Embodiment 5, wherein thecommunications device is a multi-access IoT hub in one of a home,enterprise, hotel or hospital.

Numbered List of Exemplary Apparatus Embodiments

Apparatus Embodiment 1 A communications device (102 or 202 or 302 or 402or 502 or 602 or 1000) comprising: a first (primary) communicationsinterface (126 or 226 or 326 or 426 or 526 or 626 or 1002); a second(secondary) communications interface (128 or 228 or 328 or 428 or 528 or628 or 1004), said second communication interface being a wirelesscommunications interface which is one of: i) a Long Range (LoRa)wireless interface which uses sub-GHz unlicensed spectrum or ii) aNarrow Band-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) wireless interface which useslicensed spectrum; and a memory (1012) including (e.g., prior todeployment at a customer premises location), secondary communicationsnetwork credentials, the secondary communications network credentialsincluding an identifier used for communicating via the secondarycommunications interface; and a processor (1006) configured to controlthe communications device to: communicate (702) via the second interfaceand a secondary communications network (e.g., a low-power wide-areanetwork (LPWAN) such as a LoRa communications network or a NB-IoTnetwork) with a management system; receive (720) from the managementsystem configuration information for configuring the communicationsdevice to communicate over the first (primary) communications interface;and communicate (724), in accordance with the received configurationinformation, via the first communications interface.

Apparatus Embodiment 2 The communications device (102 or 202 or 302 or402 or 502 or 602 or 1000) of Apparatus Embodiment 1, wherein theprocessor (1006) is configured, as part of controlling thecommunications device to communicate via the first communicationsinterface, controls the communications device to communicate trafficdata via the first communications interface, said traffic data includingat least one of: i) user data (e.g., voice or video corresponding to avoice or video call), ii) sensor data or iii) application data (e.g.,text messages, WORD documents, etc); and wherein said secondcommunications interface is not used to communicate user data orapplication data.

Apparatus Embodiment 3 The communications device (102 or 202 or 302 or402 or 502 or 602 or 1000) of Apparatus Embodiment 2, wherein saidsecond communications interface (128 or 228 or 328 or 428 or 528 or 628or 1004) supports a lower maximum average transmission data rate thansaid first communications interface (126 or 226 or 326 or 426 or 526 or626 or 1002).

Apparatus Embodiment 4 The communications device (102 or 202 or 302 or402 or 502 or 602 or 1000) of Apparatus Embodiment 3, wherein saidsecond communications interface (128 or 228 or 328 or 428 or 528 or 628or 1004) is a long range interface, a second transmission range ofwireless signals sent via the second communications interface beinggreater than a first maximum transmission range of wireless signals sentvia the first communications interface (126 or 226 or 326 or 426 or 526or 626 or 1002).

Apparatus Embodiment 5 The communications device (102 or 202 or 302 or402 or 502 or 602 or 1000) of Apparatus Embodiment 1, wherein saidconfiguration information includes provisioning information used toconfigure the first communications interface, said configurationinformation includes at least one of: (but could be one, more or allof): i) transmission power level information indicating a maximumtransmit power level to be used for wireless transmissions made usingthe first communications interface, ii) first security information(e.g., a first encryption key) to be used for securing communications(e.g., encrypting/decrypting) sent via the first communicationsinterface; iii) a first identifier to be used by the communicationsdevice, said first identifier identifying the communications device viatransmissions made via the first communications interface (e.g., an SSIDor device ID transmitted via the first communications interface).

Apparatus Embodiment 6 The communications device (102 or 202 or 302 or402 or 502 or 602 or 1000) of Apparatus Embodiment 5, wherein saidsecondary communications network credentials stored in said memoryinclude at least one (but possibly all) of: i) a second identifierassigned to said communications device prior to deployment of saidcommunications device; and ii) an encryption key or shared secret to beused for securing communications via said second communicationsinterface.

Apparatus Embodiment 7 The communications device (102 or 202 or 302 or402 or 502 or 602 or 1000) of Apparatus Embodiment 6, wherein said firstand second identifiers are different.

Apparatus Embodiment 8 The communications device (102 or 202 or 302 or402 or 502 or 602 or 1000) of Apparatus Embodiment 6, wherein said firstcommunications interface (126 or 226 or 326 or 426 or 526 or 626 or1002) is one of a wired or wireless communications interface; andwherein said second communications interface is a wireless interface(128 or 228 or 328 or 428 or 528 or 628 or 1004).

Apparatus Embodiment 9 The communications device (102 or 202 or 302 or402 or 502 or 602 or 1000) of Apparatus Embodiment 1, wherein saidprocessor (1006) is further configured to control the communicationsdevice to: communicate at least one of i) status or ii) configurationinformation to the management system following a failure (complete orpartial communications failure) via the first (primary) communicationsinterface; receive at least one of i) updated configuration informationor ii) a control command from the management system; and implementcommunication via the first (primary) communications interface (e.g.,begin full duplex communication via the primary interface again) afterimplementing the control command (e.g., restore previous configurationor restore factory default setting) or using the updated configurationinformation (e.g., new security information, frequency band, etc.)received via the second (secondary) communications interface.

Apparatus Embodiment 10 The communications device (102 or 202 or 302 or402 or 502 or 602 or 1000) of Apparatus Embodiment 9, furthercomprising: a battery (1090) for supplying backup power; and whereincommunications via the second (secondary) communications interface isimplemented via backup power from the battery following a loss of wiresupplied power resulting in a communication failure via the first(primary) communications interface or a loss of configurationinformation due to a wire supplied power failure.

Apparatus Embodiment 11 The communications device (102 or 202 or 302 or402 or 502 or 602 or 1000) of Apparatus Embodiment 10, wherein theprocessor (1006) is further configured to control the communicationsdevice to: detect a communications failure via the first communicationsinterface; and communicate at least one of: i) status or ii)configuration information to the management system following a failure(complete or partial communications failure) via the first (primary)communications interface is performed by said communications device inresponse to detecting the communications failure via the firstcommunications interface.

Apparatus Embodiment 12 The communications device (102 or 202 or 302 or402 or 502 or 602 or 1000) of Apparatus Embodiment 1, wherein theprocessor (1006) is further configured to control the communicationsdevice to: receive (932) via the second (secondary) communicationsinterface (from the management system) a request for device status orconfiguration information, said request being received after detection,by said management system, of a communications failure with regard tothe first communications interface that prevents communication with thecommunications device via the first communications interface.

Apparatus Embodiment 13 The communications device (102 or 202 or 302 or402 or 502 or 602 or 1000) of Apparatus Embodiment 12, wherein theprocessor (1006) is further configured to control the communicationsdevice to: respond (934) to said request for device status orconfiguration information by communicating at least one of: i) status orii) configuration information to the management system following thefailure.

Apparatus Embodiment 14 The communications device (102 or 602 or 1000)of Apparatus Embodiment 5, wherein said communications device is a fixedwireless access (FWA) customer premises equipment (CPE) device with anembedded IoT sensor.

Apparatus Embodiment 15 The communications device (202 or 602 or 1000)of Apparatus Embodiment 5, wherein the communications device is aCitizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) Citizens Broadband radio ServiceDevice (CBSD) and wherein the received information for configuring thecommunications device to communicate over the first communicationsinterface (primary network interface) includes a CBSD identifier(CBSD-ID) to be used for communication over the first communicationsinterface.

Apparatus Embodiment 16 The communications device (202 or 602 or 1000)of Apparatus Embodiment 5, wherein the communications device is aCitizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) Citizens Broadband radio ServiceDevice (CBSD) and wherein said first communications interface is a wiredinterface.

Apparatus Embodiment 17 The communications device (302 or 602 or 1000)of Apparatus Embodiment 5, wherein the communications device is a WiFiaccess point and wherein said first communications interface is a WiFiinterface.

Apparatus Embodiment 18 The communications device (402 or 602 or 1000)of Apparatus Embodiment 5, wherein the communications device is a Docsismodem, wherein said first communications interface is a cable interfaceand wherein said second interface is an LoRa interface included in saidDocsis modem.

Apparatus Embodiment 19 The communications device (502 or 602 or 1000)of Apparatus Embodiment 5, wherein the communications device is amulti-access IoT hub in one of a home, enterprise, hotel or hospital.

Numbered List of Exemplary Non-Transitory Computer Readable MediumEmbodiments

Non-Transitory Computer readable Medium Embodiment 1. A non-transitorycomputer readable medium (1012) including computer executableinstructions which when executed by a processor (1006) control acommunications device (1000) including a first communications interface(1002) and a second communications interface (1004) to perform the stepsof: storing, in the communications device, secondary communicationsnetwork credentials, the secondary communications network credentialsbeing for use via the second communications interface, said secondcommunication interface being a wireless communications interface whichis one of: i) a Long Range (LoRa) wireless interface which uses sub-GHzunlicensed spectrum or ii) a Narrow Band-Internet of Things (NB-IoT)wireless interface which uses licensed spectrum; communicating via thesecond interface and a secondary communications network with amanagement system; receiving from the management system configurationinformation for configuring the communications device to communicateover the first communications interface; and operating thecommunications device to communicate, in accordance with the receivedconfiguration information, via the first communications interface.

While the invention and methods is explained in some cases with regardto CBRS devices, the methods and apparatus are not limited to CBRSservice and can be used in a wide variety of devices and applications.For example the methods and multi-interface approach can be used incable modems and other primary technology devices as well as CBRSdevices.

The techniques of various embodiments may be implemented using software,hardware and/or a combination of software and hardware. Variousembodiments are directed to apparatus, e.g., communications devices suchas FWA CPEs, CBRS CBSDs, WiFi/WiFi-6 APs, Docsis modems, multi-accessIoT Hub devices, CBSD APs, core nodes, communication nodes, CMTSdevices, network nodes, IoT network APs, LoRa APs, NB-IoT APs,management system devices, EMS devices, O&M devices, SAS devices,databases, service provider domain proxies, controllers, user devicessuch as a user equipment (UE) device, IoT devices, base stations such asa gNB or ng-eNB, network nodes, an AMF device, servers, customerpremises equipment devices, management systems, primary networks,secondary networks, cable systems, network nodes, gateways, cableheadend/hubsites, network monitoring node/servers, cluster controllers,cloud nodes, production nodes, cloud services servers and/or networkequipment devices. Various embodiments are also directed to methods,e.g., method of controlling and/or operating a communications device,e.g., a FWA CPE, a CBRS CBSD, a WiFi/WiFi-6 AP, a Docsis modem, or amulti-access IoT Hub device, a management system, a management deviceuser devices, base stations, gateways, servers, cable networks, cloudnetworks, nodes, servers, cloud service servers, customer premisesequipment devices, controllers, network monitoring nodes/servers and/orcable or network equipment devices. Various embodiments are alsodirected to machine, e.g., computer, readable medium, e.g., ROM, RAM,CDs, hard discs, etc., which include machine readable instructions forcontrolling a machine to implement one or more steps of a method. Thecomputer readable medium is, e.g., non-transitory computer readablemedium.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in theprocesses and methods disclosed is an example of exemplary approaches.Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific orderor hierarchy of steps in the processes and methods may be rearrangedwhile remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. Theaccompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in asample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order orhierarchy presented. In some embodiments, one or more processors areused to carry out one or more steps of the each of the describedmethods.

In various embodiments each of the steps or elements of a method areimplemented using one or more processors. In some embodiments, each ofelements are steps are implemented using hardware circuitry.

In various embodiments nodes and/or elements described herein areimplemented using one or more components to perform the stepscorresponding to one or more methods, for example, monitoring,configuring, message reception, signal processing, sending, comparing,determining and/or transmission steps. Thus, in some embodiments variousfeatures are implemented using components or in some embodiments logicsuch as for example logic circuits. Such components may be implementedusing software, hardware or a combination of software and hardware. Manyof the above described methods or method steps can be implemented usingmachine executable instructions, such as software, included in a machinereadable medium such as a memory device, e.g., RAM, floppy disk, etc. tocontrol a machine, e.g., general purpose computer with or withoutadditional hardware, to implement all or portions of the above describedmethods, e.g., in one or more nodes. Accordingly, among other things,various embodiments are directed to a machine-readable medium, e.g., anon-transitory computer readable medium, including machine executableinstructions for causing a machine, e.g., processor and associatedhardware, to perform one or more of the steps of the above-describedmethod(s). Some embodiments are directed to a device, e.g., acommunications device, including a processor configured to implementone, multiple or all of the steps of one or more methods of theinvention.

In some embodiments, the processor or processors, e.g., CPUs, of one ormore devices, e.g., communications nodes such as, e.g., a FWA CPE, aCBRS CBSD, a WiFi/WiFi-6 AP, a Docsis modem, or a multi-access IoT Hubdevice, are configured to perform the steps of the methods described asbeing performed by the communications nodes, e.g., controllers. Theconfiguration of the processor may be achieved by using one or morecomponents, e.g., software components, to control processorconfiguration and/or by including hardware in the processor, e.g.,hardware components, to perform the recited steps and/or controlprocessor configuration. Accordingly, some but not all embodiments aredirected to a device, e.g., communications node such as a FWA CPE, aCBRS CBSD, a WiFi/WiFi-6 AP, a Docsis modem, or a multi-access IoT Hubdevice, including a processor which includes a component correspondingto each of the steps of the various described methods performed by thedevice in which the processor is included. In some but not allembodiments a device, e.g., communications node such as a FWA CPE, aCBRS CBSD, a WiFi/WiFi-6 AP, a Docsis modem, or a multi-access IoT Hubdevice, includes a controller corresponding to each of the steps of thevarious described methods performed by the device in which the processoris included. The components may be implemented using software and/orhardware.

Some embodiments are directed to a computer program product comprising acomputer-readable medium, e.g., a non-transitory computer-readablemedium, comprising code for causing a computer, or multiple computers,to implement various functions, steps, acts and/or operations, e.g. oneor more steps described above. Depending on the embodiment, the computerprogram product can, and sometimes does, include different code for eachstep to be performed. Thus, the computer program product may, andsometimes does, include code for each individual step of a method, e.g.,a method of controlling a controller or node. The code may be in theform of machine, e.g., computer, executable instructions stored on acomputer-readable medium, e.g., a non-transitory computer-readablemedium, such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory) orother type of storage device. In addition to being directed to acomputer program product, some embodiments are directed to a processorconfigured to implement one or more of the various functions, steps,acts and/or operations of one or more methods described above.Accordingly, some embodiments are directed to a processor, e.g., CPU,configured to implement some or all of the steps of the methodsdescribed herein. The processor may be for use in, e.g., acommunications device such as FWA CPE, a CBRS CBSD, a WiFi/WiFi-6 AP, aDocsis modem, a multi-access IoT Hub device, a controller, a managementdevice, or other device described in the present application. In someembodiments components are implemented as hardware devices in suchembodiments the components are hardware components. In other embodimentscomponents may be implemented as software, e.g., a set of processor orcomputer executable instructions. Depending on the embodiment thecomponents maybe all hardware components, all software components, acombination of hardware and/or software or in some embodiments somecomponents are hardware components while other components are softwarecomponents.

Numerous additional variations on the methods and apparatus of thevarious embodiments described above will be apparent to those skilled inthe art in view of the above description. Such variations are to beconsidered within the scope. Numerous additional embodiments, within thescope of the present invention, will be apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art in view of the above description and the claims whichfollow. Such variations are to be considered within the scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating a communications deviceincluding a first communications interface and a second communicationsinterface, the method comprising: storing, in the communications device,secondary communications network credentials, the secondarycommunications network credentials enabling use of the secondcommunications interface, said first communications interface supportinga higher data rate than the second communications interface;communicating via the second communications interface and a secondarycommunications network with a management system; receiving from themanagement system via the second communications interface configurationinformation for configuring the communications device to communicateover the first communications interface, wherein said configurationinformation includes provisioning information used to configure thefirst communications interface, said configuration information includesat least one of: i) transmission power level information indicating amaximum transmit power level to be used for wireless transmissions madeusing the first communications interface, ii) first security informationto be used for securing communications sent via the first communicationsinterface, or iii) a first identifier to be used by the communicationsdevice, said first identifier identifying the communications device viatransmissions made via the first communications interface; and operatingthe communications device to communicate, in accordance with thereceived configuration information, via the first communicationsinterface.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: prior tocommunicating via the first communications interface applying theconfiguration information received via the second communicationsinterface to enable communications via the first communicationsinterface.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first communicationsinterface is used for voice communication.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the second communications interface is used to initially enablecommunication via the first communications interface and to obtainreconfiguration in the event of a fault disabling communication via thefirst communications interface.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinoperating the communications device to communicate via the firstcommunications interface includes communicating traffic data via thefirst communications interface, said traffic data including at least oneof: i) user data, ii) sensor data or iii) application data; and whereinsaid second communications interface is not used to communicate userdata or application data.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein saidsecondary communications network credentials include at least one of: i)a second identifier assigned to said communications device prior todeployment of said communications device; and ii) an encryption key orshared secret to be used for securing communications via said secondcommunications interface.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said firstcommunications interface is one of a wired or wireless communicationsinterface; and wherein said second communications interface is awireless communications interface.
 8. A method of operating acommunications device including a first communications interface and asecond communications interface, the method comprising: storing, in thecommunications device, secondary communications network credentials, thesecondary communications network credentials enabling use of the secondcommunications interface, said first communications interface supportinga higher data rate than the second communications interface;communicating via the second communications interface and a secondarycommunications network with a management system; receiving from themanagement system via the second communications interface configurationinformation for configuring the communications device to communicateover the first communications interface; operating the communicationsdevice to communicate, in accordance with the received configurationinformation, via the first communications interface; communicating atleast one of: i) status or ii) configuration information to themanagement system following a failure via the first communicationsinterface; receiving at least one of: i) updated configurationinformation or ii) a control command from the management system; andimplementing communication via the first communications interface afterimplementing the control command or using the updated configurationinformation received via the second communications interface.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein communications via the second communicationsinterface is implemented via backup power following a loss of wiresupplied power resulting in a communication failure via the firstcommunications interface or a loss of configuration information due to awire supplied power failure.
 10. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising: operating the communications device to detect acommunications failure with regard to communications via the firstcommunications interface; and wherein said step of communicating atleast one of: i) status or ii) configuration information to themanagement system following a failure via the first communicationsinterface is performed by said communications device in response todetecting the communications failure.
 11. A communications devicecomprising: a first communications interface; a second communicationsinterface; a memory including, secondary communications networkcredentials, the secondary communications network credentials enablinguse of the second communications interface, said first communicationsinterface supporting a higher data rate than the second communicationsinterface; and a processor that controls the communications device to:communicate via the second communications interface and a secondarycommunications network with a management system; receive from themanagement system via the second communications interface configurationinformation for configuring the communications device to communicateover the first communications interface, wherein said configurationinformation includes provisioning information used to configure thefirst communications interface, said configuration information includesat least one of: i) transmission power level information indicating amaximum transmit power level to be used for wireless transmissions madeusing the first communications interface, ii) first security informationto be used for securing communications sent via the first communicationsinterface, or iii) a first identifier to be used by the communicationsdevice, said first identifier identifying the communications device viatransmissions made via the first communications interface; andcommunicate, in accordance with the received configuration information,via the first communications interface.
 12. The communications device ofclaim 11, wherein said processor controls the communications device to:apply the configuration information received via the secondcommunications interface to enable communications via the firstcommunications interface, said applying being performed prior tocommunicating via the first communications interface.
 13. Thecommunications device of claim 12, wherein the first communicationsinterface is used for voice communication.
 14. The communications deviceof claim 13, wherein the second communications interface is used toinitially enable communication via the first communications interfaceand to obtain reconfiguration in the event of a fault disablingcommunication via the first communications interface.
 15. Thecommunications device of claim 11, wherein said processor controls thecommunications device to communicate traffic data via the firstcommunications interface as part of controlling the communicationsdevice to communicate via the first communications interface, saidtraffic data including at least one of: i) user data, ii) sensor data oriii) application data; and wherein said second communications interfaceis not used to communicate user data or application data.
 16. Thecommunications device of claim 11, wherein said secondary communicationsnetwork credentials include at least one of: i) a second identifierassigned to said communications device prior to deployment of saidcommunications device; and ii) an encryption key or shared secret to beused for securing communications via said second communicationsinterface.
 17. The communications device of claim 16, wherein said firstcommunications interface is one of a wired or wireless communicationsinterface; and wherein said second communications interface is awireless communications interface.
 18. A non-transitory computerreadable medium including computer executable instructions which whenexecuted by a processor control a communications device including afirst communications interface and a second communications interface toperform the steps of: storing, in the communications device, secondarycommunications network credentials, the secondary communications networkcredentials enabling use of the second communications interface, saidfirst communications interface supporting a higher data rate than thesecond communications interface; communicating via the secondcommunications interface and a secondary communications network with amanagement system; receiving from the management system via the secondcommunications interface configuration information for configuring thecommunications device to communicate over the first communicationsinterface, wherein said configuration information includes provisioninginformation used to configure the first communications interface, saidconfiguration information includes at least one of: i) transmissionpower level information indicating a maximum transmit power level to beused for wireless transmissions made using the first communicationsinterface, ii) first security information to be used for securingcommunications sent via the first communications interface, or iii) afirst identifier to be used by the communications device, said firstidentifier identifying the communications device via transmissions madevia the first communications interface; and operating the communicationsdevice to communicate, in accordance with the received configurationinformation, via the first communications interface.